For protestors against the Parandur greenfield airport, a big boost will come when actor-turned-politician and President of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Vijay meets them on Monday. The Kancheepuram police have granted permission for Vijay to visit the protestors.

For the year-old party, this will be the first major platform to establish itself as a political force in the State. For the protestors, it will be their first support from a political party.

Vijay will visit Ekanapuram village and interact with the villagers who have been protesting for over 900 days against the acquisition of farm lands for setting up of the second airport for Chennai at Parandur.

N Anand, General Secretary of the year-old party inspected the venue on January 17 and held discussions with protesters. He reiterated the party’s support for their cause.

“Visit of Vijay to Ekanapuram will be a major morale booster for us and for our fight against the airport,” said a protestor.

January 10th Friday marked the 900th day of protest by local people who feel their livelihood would be affected due to the project, which will likely get a clearance from the Centre.

Parandur Green Airport Project Protest Group & Ekanapuram Village Residents and Farmers Welfare Federation have been urging both the State and Central governments to drop the project, 70 km from Chennai. The Federation’s Secretary G Subramanian said that the project would affect 13 villages, including Ekanapuram, Nelvoy, Valathur, Ediayarpakkam, Madapuram and Akkammapuram surrounding Parandur.

The ₹20,000 crore project is planned in 5,746 acres from 20 villages and to be completed before 2030. In September 2024, the State government issued land acquisition notices for a total of 4445 acres of land in Ekanapuram.

In August, 2024, the Centre granted site clearance approval to Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd, for development of greenfield airport at Parandur.

Site clearance for the project was granted by the Centre based on the recommendations of the Steering Committee comprising representatives from several stakeholder Ministries/Organisations including Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Safety Regulator.

The proposed airport at Parandur would serve as the second airport near Chennai. It would annually handle 10 crore people, with two runways, terminal buildings, taxiways, an apron, and a cargo terminal.

The Chennai airport handles over 2 crore people annually. After the ongoing modernisation work, it can handle 3.5 crore people a year for the next seven years. The Ministry of Defence had also granted No Objection for the grant of site clearance.

Reacting to Vijay’s visit to Parandur, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Sunday told newspersons in Virudhunagar that any political leader can visit them. He urged the leaders to talk to them and convey their concerns to the government. “We will certainly act on the suggestions,” he added.

On the protests, the minister said the State government would provide compensation higher than the market value for the land being acquired. He added that the government will provide rehabilitation to those affected.

Published on January 18, 2025